[Tolo News] The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martine Dempsey on Thursday said that the U.S. was not planning for any further negotiations over the Kabul-Washington security pact, which continues to await Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... 's signature.
Washington and Kabul have been engaged in negotiations over signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) for well over a year, yet no accord has been finalized. Although many thought the issue was put to rest when the Loya Jirga approved the pact and recommended it be signed as soon as possible, things changed when Karzai set new preconditions and pushed back the timeline to April.
"I think it was clear that over the course of an exhausting negotiations over many months there was a text that was agreed upon and that text was considered to be closed at some points and presented to the Loya Jirga," Dempsey said while speaking at Bagram Air Base. "It's not "our intention to reopen the text and to renegotiate that which had been previously been discussed, and that's not a threat.,
The U.S. has said it and its NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... partners need the BSA to be signed before the end of the year in order to make plans for their troops post-2014, which are expected to fill a training, advising and assisting role for the Afghan forces.
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12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] Efforts are on to free eight Indian sailors being held by Somali pirates, according to Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan.
Speaking after commissioning Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Rajdhwaj here on Wednesday, Vasan said of the eight sailors, seven were taken hostage while they were onboard MT Asphalt Venture, while one was held hostage on the Malaysian vessel M V Albedo.
Vasan said his ministry along with the ministry of external affairs and various other agencies was pursuing the issue to free the sailors from the pirates.
The minister also said the captured pirates in Indian jails would be tried under Indian laws and punished.
Vasan also said a total of 375 foreign crew members and 61 foreign boats were captured by the Indian Coast Guard in Indian waters this year. He said of these, 275 crew members and 51 boats are from Sri Lanka.
Earlier, he commissioned ICGS Rajdhwaj, the eighth in the series of Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) built indigenously by Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers, Kolkata.
The minister expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... over delay in supplying the ship by the shipyard and urged them to deliver it on time.
Director general of coastguard Anurag G Thapliyal said the ship on joining the coasties fleet would enhance coasties capability in furthering the mandate of maritime safety and security on the eastern sea board.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Somalia's president named a political newcomer prime minster Thursday, days after his predecessor was ousted amid bitter infighting that sparked fears it could hamper progress in the war-torn nation. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said he had appointed Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed to the post, an economist who has worked with several international organisations and banks.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Anoud Senussi, the beautiful daughter of Qadaffy's intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi, has said her father should be brought before the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... (ICC) in The Hague for trial. She claimed that he would not receive a fair hearing in Libya and that he would face the death penalty there.
The ICC ruled in November against an appeal by Senussi's lawyers to have proceedings against the former intelligence head suspended in Libya. The ICC is still considering whether or not the Qadaffy spy master has a case to answer before the international court but has said that continuing with proceedings against him in Libya would not interfere with their decision.
Senussi faces charges for murder, conspiracy to murder and human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... crimes.
Speaking to Rooters, Anoud Senussi said that she did not expect her father to be freed but wanted him brought before The Hague for a fair trial.
Anoud was herself nabbed Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! in Libya in October last year when she travelled from Algeria on a forged passport to visit her father. She was imprisoned for ten months in Al-Ruwaimi jail in Ain Zara for the offence and was kidnapped immediately after her release. She was freed five days later and flown to Sebha.
Senussi's daughter has campaigned for her father's case to be heard by the ICC. She told the Libya Herald while in prison last year that her father is "a good man, an affectionate human being. He did not do anything bad or wrong. He was loved and never had any bodyguards. No one ever tried to kill him."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] Hossam Nasser, former planning minister advisor, accused the dirty money report as being an American scheme to divert the attention of the Egyptians from the roadmap and preoccupy them with issues of less importance. That statement probably made more sense in the original Gobbledegook.
The Global Financial Integrity Organization released a report, indicating that developing countries lost about one trillion dollars due to fraud, corruption and shady business deals in 2011, which exceeds the size of the foreign aid it receives.
The report pointed out that the Middle East and North Africa saw the world's fastest increase in dirty money generated by illicit transactions, crime and corruption. The report says illicit flows of money have increased from countries in the region to a record 31.5 percent between 2002 and 2011, a decade that contributed to the outbreak of the Arab Spring uprisings.
The sub-Saharan Africa region came in second place, with an increase of 20.2 percent over the same period.
A source at the Central Bank, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , said that Egypt has signed the Convention on Money Laundering, and that the Central Bank monitors money transactions very closely.
Also, Amr al-Ganainy, board member of the Commercial International Bank, said the banking sector is very strong and cannot pass any dirty money operations.
"Talk about the involvement of the banks in the money transfer operations of the officials of Mubarak's regime after the January revolution is all but rumors," he said. "The Central Bank is closely watching all transfers at home or abroad."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Hossam Nasser, former planning minister advisor, accused the dirty money report as being an American scheme
Should've taken the funds via small donations from unverified credit cards instead.
[Al Ahram] US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said Wednesday the US welcomes the reduced sentences of the Moslem Brüderbund trials in Egypt but with remaining concerns over the climate leading to arrests and detentions.
On the 11 December daily press briefing, Psaki said the US had closely followed the trials of Moslem Brüderbund leaders in Egypt and were pleased with the release of some pro-Brotherhood female demonstrators.
"We continue to look to the government of Egypt to ensure the Egyptians are afforded due process with fair and transparent trials, and continue to convey our belief that civilians should be sent to civilian courts," Psaki said.
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12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... said on Thursday that security was gradually returning to Central African Republic (CAR), where La Belle France has deployed 1,600 troops to stem sectarian violence.
"The night (in the capital Bangui) was calm... But we must be very vigilant, cautious and carry out the disarmament (of militias) to the end," said Hollande, who earlier this week paid a swift visit to the former French colony.
On Tuesday, Hollande said that La Belle France's intervention was dangerous but vital to avoid a bloodbath. Two elite French soldiers have been killed in the intervention.
Bangui, where hundreds were slaughtered with clubs and machetes last week, appeared generally calm Wednesday, with residents suggesting that fear was subsiding following the weekend deployment of the French soldiers.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, has condemned suicide kabooms as grave crimes, reiterating his stance in unusually strong language. Prob'ly it just depends on whose ox is being gored.
The Saudi holy man, whose views influence many Sunni Mohammedans respectful of the kingdom's strict version of Islam, denounced suicide kabooms after al Qaeda's 2001 assault on US cities, but his latest comments recast the message in sharp terms.
"Killing oneself is a grave crime and a grave sin," Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh was quoted as saying by the pan-Arab, Saudi-owned Al Hayat newspaper on Thursday.
"Those who kill themselves with explosives are criminals who are hastening their way to hell."
Nearly two months ago, the mufti, who is appointed and paid by the Saudi government, urged Saudis not to travel to Syria to join Sunni rebels battling to unseat Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... .
Riyadh broadly backs the rebels, but with the rise of Islamist bully boy factions in Syria, it has grown increasingly worried that Saudis who fight for the anti-Assad cause might one day return home to wage a jihad in the kingdom.
Saudis who had fought for al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Iraq staged a violent campaign in their homeland from 2003-06 in a failed attempt Curses! Foiled again! to bring down the ruling al-Saud dynasty.
Although some prominent Saudi holy mans spoke approvingly of suicide attacks on non-Mohammedans more than a decade ago, most have since argued against such actions.
"Their (jacket wallahs) hearts have veered away from the right path, their minds have been invaded by evil," Al Hayat quoted Al al-Sheikh as saying after what the daily described as a recent lecture in a Riyadh mosque. "They have been exploited in order to cause destruction to themselves and society."
The mufti did not refer to suicide kabooms in a specific country. Such attacks have occurred across the Middle East and beyond, nowadays most frequently in Iraq and Syria.
Saudi Arabia's policy toward Syria reflects its regional power struggle with Shiite Iran, a strong ally of Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Sunni hardliners regard Shiites as heretics.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
This is the guy who wants to demolish all churches in the Gulf.
If Saudis taught respect for all religions we wouldnt be in the mess we are today.
[An Nahar] Yemeni state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
has aired horrific images of an al-Qaeda-claimed assault on a defense ministry complex in Sanaa showing the assailants executing civilians and medics in cold blood.
The footage, taken from surveillance cameras, were aired on Yemen TV late on Wednesday and show the attack and its aftermath.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed the attack that took place on December 5 in broad daylight and killed 56 people.
The images show an exploding car detonated at the gate to the complex, sending soldiers, medics and civilians gathered inside the compound running for cover.
After the blast, heavily armed faceless myrmidons dressed in combat fatigues are seen wandering through the corridors of the complex, shooting anyone they see, including a maimed female nurse who appears to be looking for help.
Another gunman in military uniform calmly approaches a group of people huddled in a corridor after the initial blast, before pulling a hand grenade from his jacket and hurling it at them.
The group scrabbles for cover, before the grenade explodes and smoke blocks the screen.
Elsewhere in the complex, a man with a young girl are seen looking for a place to hide. Their fate is not shown, while a doctor is seen running to rescue a maimed man before one of the attackers shoots both dead.
A preliminary report into the attack had said most of the attackers were Saudi.
Investigators had already said the assailants wore military fatigues and penetrated the sprawling Sanaa complex in the confusion created when the jacket wallah rammed his vehicle into the gate.
They said the bodies of 12 attackers were recovered after security forces retook the area.
Among the dead were medics from the Philippines, Germany, Vietnam and India. Civilian patients as well as soldiers were also killed, Yemen's supreme security committee had said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... yesterday appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict that declared the party's registration with the Election Commission illegal, thereby making it unfit for contesting the national polls.
In the appeal, Jamaat prayed to the apex court to scrap the HC verdict, saying the party amended its constitution in December last year in line with the Representation of the People Order (RPO).
The EC did not object to the amendment that time, the appeal added.
A total of 21 points had been mentioned in the appeal to turn down the HC judgement, the party lawyer Belayet Hossain told The Daily Star.
He said the hearing of the appeal might be held in January next year, as the court would go into a vacation from tomorrow [today].
It will reopen on January 2.
Following a writ petition, a three-member special bench of the HC by a majority view declared Jamaat's registration illegal and unlawful on August 1, mentioning that the registration had no legal effect.
The HC released full text of the verdict on November 2.
The court came up with the verdict as many provisions of the charter of Jamaat, which got registered with the EC in November 2008, run counter to the country's constitution and the RPO.
Jamaat's charter contains provisions including the call for establishing the rule of Islam, and refusal to accept parliament's plenary power to enact laws.
The provisions do not conform to Bangladesh's constitution and the RPO.
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12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Members of an intelligence agency picked up Jatiya Party ...aka Jatiya Front; a political party established by Bangladictator Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986 to lend a veneer of respectability to his rule. Since nobody was amused he was forced to resign by popular demand in 1990. The party remains in existence with about a dozen seats in Bangla's parliament... Chairman HM Ershad from his Baridhara residence and took him to the Combined Military Hospital last night.
JP sources said Ershad was picked up as part of the government move to force him to participate in the election. But Rab-1 Commander Kismat Hayat said the JP chief was feeling sick and they just provided him security on his way to the CMH.
A four-member team of the intelligence agency entered his President Park residence at 11:15pm and came out with him after 15 minutes.
The development came just hours after a meeting between the ruling Awami League high-ups and three JP leaders -- Raushan Ershad, Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu -- at the Gono Bhaban.
JP workers present in front of Ershad's house tried to stop the vehicle carrying Ershad and rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud in his support, said Faisal Didar Dipu, convener of Dhaka University unit of Jatiya Chhatra Samaj, a pro-JP student wing.
Intelligence officials called police and Rab to clear the way. At one stage, the law enforcers charged batons to disperse the JP men, he alleged.
According to Dipu, a top intelligence official told the JP workers, "We are taking your sir for treatment."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] A new report into Somali integration in Oslo has found immigrants from the east African nation often feel excluded from Norwegian society, and must battle against prejudice and stereotyping. School absenteeism and dropout rates are higher for Somalis than other immigrant groups, and employment rates remain very low. 'Nother words, they live up to the prejudice and stereotyping? Well, tut.
The Open Society Foundation's (OSF) 'At Home in Europe' project investigated Somali integration in Oslo, Malmö, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London and Leicester. The report found Somalis make up Oslo's third-largest immigrant group, and are one of the largest refugee groups coming into Norway.
"Many are working hard to be accepted as Norwegian citizens," OSF Director Nazia Hussain told newspaper Aftenposten. "Compared to the other European cities, Norwegian Somalis are characterized by a strong commitment to participation in and belonging to the community."
Despite these efforts, researchers found the group lacks a sense of inclusion. About 80 per cent of Somalis are under 40 years of age, and 80 per cent of second-generation Somali-Norwegian children are under 10. The youth aren't seen as Norwegians, but no longer identify solely as Somalian. Education is vital for integration, yet Somali students have an above average drop-out rate and a higher absentee rate than both the general population and other immigrant groups. Language and cultural difficulties make it hard for parents to help children with their studies.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I really don't care how long you plan on staying. Folks around here are really never going to warm up to you.
#3
Is it true that the US has some 3 million Moslems living here? And do many of them enlist to fight for the United States? How many have joined the USMarines, for instance.
I remember two who were very good Marines at Quantico but they were Lebanese and were Dervishes...Christian Phalangists politically. We just called them Dervishes, they both did the O Course in very good time.
#5
I'm pretty sure the Irish faced similar issues in the US. And the Italians. Germans. Greeks. Poles. Russians. Pretty much all those obstacles were overcome by hard work and time.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/13/2013 8:23 Comments ||
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#6
The Israih did not consider themselves a Herrens Volk and did not consider themselves as brothers of some morytal enemy of the United States?
#7
I'm pretty sure the Irish faced similar issues in the US.[etc]
As some of you know, Minneapolis has a fairly large Somali community. We are chosen as a place to settle refugees because of our welcoming attitudes. Vietnamese, Meo and Cambodians all came here and prospered.
The Somalis are different. This is in contrast to the Nigerian and Liberian communities that have embraced the middle class (and become Republicans). Some Somalis do work hard, learn English and are accepted by their fellow Minnesotans. But others do not attempt to learn English, stay in their own ghettos and do not look for jobs.
Somalis are a major problem for police with a group calling itself RTS (for "Rough Tough Somalis") being a major contributor to violent crime. One problem is that feuds from Somalia can spill over to the US. Also, if they can't kill an enemy, they'll kill his family instead.
Posted by: frozen Al ||
12/13/2013 11:44 Comments ||
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#8
Is it true that the US has some 3 million Moslems living here?
No. Somewhere between 1.6 million and 2.1 million. There used to be more, but there was a rush for the exits when Muslim men were required to register after the 9/11 attacks. Some went to Canada, more went home. There was an NPR report on them in 2002, and most of those leaving had overstayed their visas, mostly student visas.
[Pak Daily Times] In compliance with the Supreme Court's order, the government on Thursday filed a complaint in a special court with five charges for the trial of former military ruler Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... for high treason.
Interior Secretary Shahid Khan has submitted the complaint to the special court's Registrar, Abdul Ghani Soomro, against Musharraf for the offence of high treason under Article 6 of the constitution, read with section 3 of the high treason (Punishment Act 1973) and section 5 of the criminal law amendment (special court) Act, 1976. The government has prayed the special court that Musharraf should be summoned for his trial, convicted and punished in accordance with law and the constitution.
It is for the first time in the country's history that the federal government has moved a complaint against any person for the offence of high treason under Article 6 of the constitution. According to the government's complaint, which is also available with Daily Times, Pervez Musharraf has been declared as the lone accused. The government stated in its complaint, "Criminal acts of subversion of the constitution, constituting high treason, were personal acts of General (r) Pervez Musharraf for the purposes of his personal aggrandisement and a consequential vendetta."
It has been learnt that as head of the government's legal team Akram Sheikh has finalised the draft of complaint against Musharraf. Talking to Daily Times, he claimed that trial of the former army chief would be concluded within ten days and if the accused approaches the Supreme Court against his trial then he would request that the trial be allowed to complete first. The government has framed five formal charges against Musharraf along with a list of nine witnesses, including one FIA investigating officer (IO). The government stated, "At no point of time did parliament validate or indemnify abovementioned treasonous acts of subversion and abrogation of the constitution"
The government has charged Musharraf of issuing an unconstitutional and unlawful emergency on November 3, 2007 which, unconstitutionally and unlawfully, held the constitution in abeyance, which constitutes subversion of the constitution and commission of the offence of high treason. Second charge is that Musharraf issued the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) on November 3, 2007 as army chief which unconstitutionally and unlawfully empowered the president to amend the constitution from time to time. He has also been accused of suspending the fundamental rights enshrined in articles 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 19 and 25 of the constitution.
The ex-army chief has also been charged of issuing an unconstitutional and unlawful "Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007" which required a judge to abide by the provisions of the Proclamation of Emergency and the PCO. The fourth accusation is that on November 20, 2007, as the president, he issued an unconstitutional and unlawful Order 5 of 2007 "Constitution (Amendment) Order, 2007" whereby articles 175, 186-A, 198, 218, 270B and 270C were unconstitutionally and unlawfully amended and Article 270AAA was added to the constitution, thereby subverting the constitution.
The fifth charge is that on December 14, 2007 he issued an unconstitutional and unlawful Order 6 of 2007 "Constitution (Second Amendment) Order, 2007" whereby the constitution was unconstitutionally and unlawfully amended The government has contended that sufficient material is available on the record which calls for the prosecution of Musharraf for the offence of high treason, which is punishable under Section 2 of the High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[REUTERS] Chemical weapons were likely used in five out of seven attacks investigated by U.N. experts in Syria, where a 2-1/2-year civil war has killed over 100,000 people, according to a U.N. report published on Thursday.
"The United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Mission concludes that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic," the final report by chief U.N. investigator Ake Sellstrom said.
The report noted that in several cases the victims included soldiers and civilians, though it was not always possible to establish with certainty any direct links between the attacks, the victims and the alleged sites of the incidents.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Until Thamsanga Jantjie signs it, it's still unconfirmed.
#4
Let's see.....the possibilities:
1. Syria govt used them on the rebels.
2. Rebels used them on Syrian govt.
3. Syrian govt used them on rebels, but made it look like a work accident by rebels.
4. Rebels used them on Syria, but made it look like a work accident by Syria.
5. Actual Syrian work accident.
6. Actual Rebel work accident.
7. Iranian action or accident of some sort.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/13/2013 14:49 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] A front man for Syria's main Western-backed rebel group has criticized the decision by the United States and Britannia to suspend nonlethal aid to opposition fighters in northern Syria.
The U.S.-British decision reflected Western fears of the growing strength of al-Qaeda-linked forces among the rebels. It came after some of the aid was seized by Islamic bully boys.
The rebel front man, Louay Muqdad, said Thursday that Free Syrian Army commanders would contact U.S. and British officials to clear up the "misunderstanding."
He said he hoped the decision would be reconsidered because it would impact negatively on the Syrian people, not just the rebel FSA.
Wednesday's suspension was another blow to the rebels amid diminished international support for their struggle and recent losses on the battlefield against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... 's troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
At last check, the last major FSA rebel commander has been forced by Al-Qaeda to flee Syria to lands Not-Syria.
For all intensive purposes, the Syrian conflict is now between new Bammerika BFF + future OWG "Co-Superpower" Rising Iran, + Rising-Iran's Ally-hence-Bammerika's-other-BFF Baby Assad, wid the Qaeda Boyz, etal. foreign Militant Groups caught in the middle between them.
The alternative is that US, NATO-EU troops [read, UK] now serving in Afghanistan = AFPAK get redeployed to Syria [Iraq II? Lebanon? Turkey?]in NEW GROUND, DRONE WAR AGZ CIRCA 140-165,000-N-RISING FOREIGN JIHADI FIGHTERS IN SYRIA.
THE PRICE AMER PAYS FOR STAYING OUT OF NEW WAR IS IRAN GETS TO GO NUKULAAR [Hezbollah? Other?]+ HAVE A NEW PROTO-GREAT POWER/SUPERPOWER-STYLE MILPOL PRESENCE IN THE EASTERN MED + ELSEWHERE.
[Al Ahram] The top military commander of the Western-backed Syrian opposition is in Turkey for talks with rebels, a spokesman said Thursday, denying reports that he had fled Syria. "No, no! Certainly not!"
The Wall Street Journal reported that General Selim Idriss, the head of the Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Council, had been forced to flee after the rival Islamic Front overran key FSA bases near the border with Turkey.
But a spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition said Idriss was in Turkey holding talks with both FSA rebels and also the Islamic Front, which has emerged as the biggest Islamist rebel grouping in Syria.
"General Selim Idriss is in the south of Turkey on the border of Turkey and Syria," SNC spokesman Khaled Saleh told AFP in Istanbul.
The Islamic Front seized depots belonging to the Western-backed FSA near the Bab el-Hawa border crossing with Turkey at the weekend and then border post itself on Tuesday.
The advance prompted the United States and Britain to announced Wednesday the suspension of non-lethal aid to the moderate rebel forces in northern Syria.
Saleh dismissed the Wall Street Journal report that Idriss had flown to Qatar after fleeing to Turkey as "laughable".
"Yesterday (Wednesday) he was actually meeting with the Islamic Front," he said.
"General Idriss is still in contact with the FSA brigades that are on the ground, he's still in contact with the Islamic Front".
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
#1
He's not fleeing - he's advancing in the direction of Turkey.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Somali pirates
International Criminal Court
Al Ahram] French President 
insula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Bangla Daily Star] 
Pervez 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
